Portable electric gas-lighter.



No. 761,372. PATENTED MAY 31, 1904.

E. R. GILL.

PORTABLE ELECTRIC GAS LIGHTER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 4, 1902.

no MODEL. I

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UNITED STATES Patented May 31, 1904.

PATENT O FICE.

EDWIN n. GILL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y;, AssieNoR TO ELEcTEIo. CONTRACT COMPANY, A oonronnrron on NEW JERSEY.

PORTABLE ELECTRIC GA -LIGHTER.

. SPECIFICATION forming art of Letters Patent No. 761,372, dated May 31, 1904.

i Application filed January 4, 1902. Serial No. 83A). (No model.) I l i To all whom, it ma concern: 1

Be it known thatI, EDWIN R.- GILL, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city, county, and State of 'New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Port,- able Electric Gas-Lighters, of Whichthe following is a specification.

My present invention has relation to an improved form of gas-lighting device of that type wherein a small conductoris made incandescent by closing circuit throughit and a.-

battery in the handle of thedevicemz: I

My device consists of a neck carrying proper. circuit-closers and the glowing conductor, the

whole being capable of attachment to a proper.

My device also provides means whereby. the glowing conductor can beeasily replaced when destroyed, thus greatly prolonging the life and usefulness of the entire device. .Where quantity current of'low potential is used, as.

is necessary forthis type'ofdevice,=it. is very important thatall oxidation at contact-surfaces be strictly avoided. For this purpose the circuit-maker for operating the lighter should be arranged to cause a rubbing contact where circuit is made and broken, thuskeeping the conducting-points bright. This is accomplished by cheap, simple, and reliable means "in my device. Y

My inventionalso covers certain details of construction whereby the lighter can be conveniently constructed and repaired, thesame being more fully set forth hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1. shows a central longitudinal section of a preferred form of my lighter, the batteryi cell" Fig. 2am; pia'n view ofmy. circuit-closers looking into the being shown in elevation.

lower end of the neck along its axis. ,igsee and 4.- are similar but partial views exhibiting successive positions of theoperating cireuit- It is importantin devices .of this .the screw 8.

closer,-;and Fig. 5 shows a modified means of attachment between the battery and the neck.

My preferred form of neck comprises a thin spun-metal shell 1, screw-threaded to receive the batteryor battery-casing, which shell is prolonged in a tube 2 of such a'length as toconveniently reach a gas-burner.- The upper half of this'tubular extension is screwthreaded, as at 3, to receive the removable tip hereinafter described. Within the tube 2 and below the threads 3 is located a contact-button 4,.supported by suitable insulation 5 and connectedto a conductor 6, insulated from the metal of the neck. Within the shell 1 there is carried on the end of the tube 2 an insulating-block 7, out through which the conductor 6 is carried to a suitable terminal, as The wire 6 is made somewhat longer than is absolutely necessary toreach to the terminal 8, as shownin Fig. 2. This is for convenience in adjusting and connecting all the parts in the shell 1- in the manner described below. i

The screw 8, secures in place a bent spring 9, shapedsubstantially as shownin the drawings, which spring is constantly connected by means :of. the conductor 6 with. the contactbutton 4.; The spring 9 bends'widely around the block T'and normally presses outward upon a pinlOor other offset carried by the insulating push-button 11. This pressure keepsthe button normally in the extreme .outwardposition shown in Figs. land 2. Justbeyond the pin lOthespring recurves sharply upon itself, as shown at 1 2, being so proportioned as to touch the contact-button 13 when pressed inward byfthe button 11 and ofisetlO. As clearly shown in Fig. 1, the

=piece11 is bifurcated at 14, straddling the tubeQ and being thus confined and guided when moved in and out. a

Inspection of Figs. 2, 3, and 4 successively will. showthe production offsliding contact between the spring 12 and button 13 when the former is pressed inward. Fig. ,3 shows the contact in existence near' .the tip .of the spring when the button 11 is partly pressed in, while in Fig. 4 this contact isseen to occur farther back wl embutton 11 is pressed down altogether. Between these two positions the two terminals 12 13 rub one on the other, and their surfaces are thus kept bright, reducing ohmic resistance at that point. The button 13 is in permanent connection with a contact-spring 15, extending under the block 7. These various parts are calculated for convenience in assembling and should be put together as follows: The shell 1 and tube 2 having been joined by any means or beingmade in one piece, if desired, the button 11, with the pin or other offset 10, is slipped into place, straddling the tube 2, as shown. At this time the extra length of the conductor 6 is hanging down, so that its extremity is outside of the shell 1. The bared end of this wire is then secured under the screw 8, together with the spring 9, and theblock 7 is then placed upon the tube 2, as shown, fitting tightly and being held in place by friction or otherwise. The spring 15 at this time is merely screwed down at 13, but is not bent down into the position shown in Fig. 1 until after the block 7 is in place. A little channel is preferably provided across the lower face of the block 7 to accommodate the conductor '6. This is shown in end view in Fig. 1 just above the spring 15.

The battery 16 presses with one poleagainst the spring 15, as shown in Fig. 1, in connection with a well-known form of dry battery-cell. The other pole of the battery is in electric connection with the outer metal casing of the device, and this connection may be accomplished in a variety of ways. In Fig. 1 is shown a simple construction having this end in view. Here a battery-casing 17 of thin metal carries a bottom spring 18 for supporting the cell within the casing or, if desired, this spring may be dispensed with. The top of the casing 17 is preferably threaded to screw into or upon the neck-shell 1. (See Fig. 1.) The parts are so proportioned that when the casing is screwed home the battery 16 is pressed against the spring-terminal15. This brings the outer metal shell of the combined casing and neck into continued electrical connection with the outer pole of the battery 16, while the other pole of the battery is in electrical connection with the spring 15 and button 13. The conductor 19 in the removable tip 20 may be of platinum or other suitable material and of such dimensions as to be rendered suitably incandescent by the particular battery 16 used. The

lower end of the tip 20 screws into the tube at 3 and contains a suitable insulating-block 21. This block carries a lower terminal or conducting button 22, which comes in contact with 1 when the tip 20 is screwed home. The button 22 is electrically connected through wire 23 with one end of the glow-conductor .19, the other end of which is connected through wire 24 to the outer metal shell or casing of the device.

To light a gas-jet, it is only necessary to press the button 11 and hold the filament 19 near the gas. The circuit passes from one pole of the battery 16 through spring 15, terminals 13 and 12, by wire 6 and buttons 1 and 22 to the conductor 19, returning through the outer shell of the neck and battery-casing to the spring 18 and the exterior pole of the battery. Here the battery 16 is simply provided with a thread 25, which is adapted to cooperate with the thread on the shell 1 to hold the battery in place. In this form the battery 16 will become the handle of the device.

It will be seen that in this device means are supplied for replacing the battery or the glowing filament when either is worn out.

I am not to be understood as confining myself to the precise details of structure herein shown and described, as many of these may be modified without departing from the principle of my invention.

What I claim is 1. In an electric gas-lighter, abattery, acasing therefor, an insulating-base within said casing, a fixed terminal on said base, aspringterminal also fixed to said base at one end of its ends and curved partly around said base so as to bring its free end near said fixed terminal, and a push-buttonprojecting through said casing and against said spring-terminal so as to bend it in a slanting direction against the fixed terminal causing frictional contact, substantially as described.

2. In an electric gas-lighter having an extended neck, an insulating-block supported by one end of said neck, circuit-closers carried thereby and an insulating push-button straddling said neck for operating said circuitclosers.

3. In an electric gas-lighter, a chamber for the necessary contact-making devices, an extension outside of the chamber and projecting partly into it, a filament on said extension, a conductor passing from said filament down said extension and into said chamber, a removable push-button straddling said extension within said chamber an insulating-block carried by said extension under said pushbutton, a fixed terminal on said block for said conductor, a spring connected to said terminal and bearing on said push-button to push it outward and a second fixed terminal on said block opposite the end of said spring.

EDI VIN R. GILL.

Witnesses:

JAMES S. LAING, HAROLD S. MAcKAYE. 

